Replay the live chat with Mayor Annise Parker

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions via the chat, blog comments, Twitter and Facebook. You can replay the chat transcript below to see her answers.

Original post

Join us at 12:30 p.m. Monday for a chat with Mayor Annise Parker. She’ll take your questions in the chat module below. You can leave questions in advance in this blog entry’s comments, or post them to Twitter with the hashtag #AskAnnise.

As a new Houston resident I would like to express my appreciation for the job you’ve done as Mayor! So far, my biggest dislike of the Houston metro area is the traffic. I’ve read bits and pieces of the “red-light camara” fiasco that resulted in them being turned off. What is your position on this topic and is there any chance that these camaras might some day be reinstated? Too many Houstonians are being injured and/or killed by red light runners. Aside from that, do you have any plans for educating the driving public to reduce the “road rage” that many Houston drivers have? I used to think that Chicago traffic was bad until I moved down here!

Is there any hope in the universe of getting Lower Westhiemer repaired?Why did the repairs on Montrose go from the Med center to Alabama stop and resume at Dallas leaving the greater Montrose area in the potholes?I never really envisioned needing the Jeep to go to the Kroger.

Don’t you think an organized free financial literacy program for low income famikies taught by those in the financial planning industry woul contribute to Houston’s economy and reduce the traffic going to payday lending?

Excellent idea! But sadly it will never work. Generally, these people don’t value education. And if they get in trouble, the government will bail them out. Not much of an incentive to change if there are no consequences for your actions.

why is it that the city issues or sells permits for residential parties withloud DJ music . Why do neighbors have to wait for hours for a respond from HPD you call at 10:00pm no respond until 12or 1:00am.The Party started at 4:00 pm is it the Benjamins being collected. Be honest.

I have a question about parking on the streets in downtown Houston on Sundays.
I have parked in the same spot along with other church members at San Jacinto and Texas and recently received a 70.00 parking ticket. Two signs clearly state “No Parking” Mon-Fri and the other Mon-Sat.” Another sign says pay at the meter. The meter is now bagged and states, “Valid by permit only”….
Which one is correct? I appealed the ticket and lost! This seems very wrong.
Please give your advice or opinion in correcting this matter.
Thank you,
Molly

I live in Garden Villas neighborhood where there are ditches and consequently, there are no sidewalks. What is the process the city takes to determine when a neighborhood replaces ditches with sidewalks and underground drainage system? Because of the lack of sidewalks and narrow road, residents walk and jog along fast moving vehicles.

Where are the ditches draining to? Storm sewers have to be much deeper than roadside ditches. They also require the use of detention ponds since they speed up the flow and create an impact. Is there nearby land available for detention? Usually, it’s cost prohibitive in already developed areas to convert to storm sewer with sidewalks.

I see that DART up in Dallas is starting on a rail to service the airport. Will Houston ever have that type of service? Will metro rail ever run outside of the loop or the beltway? I love Houston but I envy other cities public transportation systems.

City of Houston builds light rail almost exclusively to get government grants. They’re not necessarily interested in being profitable or providing good service. Consequently, they use federal funding guidelines to decide where to build. Poor and high-density areas get more money, so that’s where they build.

Why don’t we focus on getting metro trains from the airports to downtown and through the Galleria area. This would allow for visitor dollars to be spent throughout the city and make this great place more accessible.

Any chance that the Impervious surface fee be reduced or go away? Why aren’t senior citizens exempt from this fee? Why is Houston charging this fee when all of the surrounding communities are not? I can’t remember but was this voted on by the citizens of Houston? Thank you!

Surrounding communities fund their drainage in other ways. Houston residents pay almost nothing utility taxes, but have extra fees for impervious cover. Communities pay very high utility taxes and don’t have to pay imervious fees. HOW you pay varies, but everyone pays.

Hats off to you on your leadership. The tale of two cities is starkly playing out in the Westside energy corridor. Energy companies and supporting services have created a construction boom (commercial and residential) in the Hwy 6 area south of I-10. House prices in the area are sky rocketing. In the shadows of this accelerated growth and wealth is an ever-increasingly large community of homeless people(mostly men and mostly white)who have set up communities in abandoned commercial property (parking lots) along Westheimer and Hwy 6, in the midst of the energy corridor. I fear that the majority of the homeless are not being integrated back into the community for a variety of complex reasons, but are just being moved further west. In addition, beggars (not sure they are homeless) occupy all four corners of the major intersections on the west side. I applaud your initiative to address the homeless problem in Houston. Can you give us an update? What help can the citizens of Houston offer? Thanks!

Mayor, from the 8700 blk of shreveport to the 9200 blk between the union pacific railroad track, there’s like no responsibility in the spread of trash all on the ground that’s been messing up this area for around 4 years. I’ve seen some organized group like a year ago try to clean it some, but they didn’t clean it all or left it not too much different from what it’s been. Please, do something.

I would like to know if there is going to be an audit of any of the 380 agreement incentives given to companies? Specifically, why are the sidewalks along the Yale St. Walmart crumbling already? Why did Walmart get a tax break to build a sidewalk to nowhere behind the building?

Being the 4th largest city in the U.S. why don’t we have better public transportation comparable to other large metropolitan cities? I know a lot of people use the metro park & ride to commute downtown, but I don’t think the same service is offered to those who work in the Galleria area, hence the horrible traffic problem! Is their any initiative being taken to possibly enhance our public transport?

Why would the city go ahead with a major reconstruction of Long Point (or any other street) without replacing the decades-old, deteriorating water pipes under the street, thus postponing badly needed replacement of those pipes for at least several more years?